The Facts: Relationship Violence 2011 Statistics

Very little data exists on the extent of relationship violence among young women. To fill that void, Glamour commissioned an exclusive Harris Interactive representative online survey of 2,542 woman ages 18 to 35, developed with counsel from the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV), the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Casa Esperanza and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “The results show how meaningful it is to have the support of friends, family and coworkers for young women in abusive relationships,” says Kenya Fairley, program manager for the NRCDV. “This is vital information.” Take a look at the findings:

NEARLY 60 PERCENT OF ALL YOUNG WOMEN HAVE EXPERIENCED ABUSE

29% of women surveyed said they’d been in an abusive relationship.

62% of those women have been hit, shoved, or slapped.

33% choked or strangled.

11% who say their partner is currently abusive predict he “will seriously hurt or kill me.”

Another 30% of all women polled said they’d never been in an abusive relationship but then reported experiencing abusive behavior.

23% of those women said they’d suffered physical violence, such as being slapped or punched.

WOMEN OFTEN DON’T SPEAK UP ABOUT IT

24% of women in abusive relationships have not told anyone they’re being harmed.

Similarly, 37% of women who have known someone in such a relationship never said anything to that person—or to the authorities.

TELLING SOMEBODY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

62% of women who reported they had been in these relationships said that having the support of a friend, family member or coworker helped them “get through the relationship safely.”

42% of women who were in an abusive relationship and told someone they were being hurt said doing so helped them get out.

WHY THEY DON’T LEAVE ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Love was the top answer from women in our survey when asked why they had not left an abusive partner.

How you can help: Text TELLNOW to 85944 to make a $10 donation that will go toward keeping a domestic violence hotline open. The Avon Foundation will match every dollar you donate up to $200,000. Find out more about our texting campaign.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between March 3 to 17, 2011 among 2,542 women (aged 18-35). Figures for age, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult female population in the 18-35 age group. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.